Monthly Archives: September 2009

f/1.8 lens, stopped down, shot with f/1.4 lens, open

Posted on September 30, 2009 by Michael Willems

I have many times recommended 50mm f/1.8 lenses, and I’ll try to inspire you once more to go out and get one right now. Most manufacturers have a cheap lens like this: As you will have heard me say many … Continue reading →

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Dawkins

Posted on September 29, 2009 by Michael Willems

I photographed Richard Dawkins tonight. In the sold-out Bader theatre in Toronto, where he introduced his new book to an enthusiastic crowd: Usually, theatre lighting is quite simple – if you get to sit in the right place. Since my … Continue reading →

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Fire tips

Posted on September 29, 2009 by Michael Willems

I have no idea why today reminded me to write something about photographing fires. All I did today was do a very pleasant workshop presentation to a packed crowd at Kraft Canada about “making better photos” – 50 enthusiastic people … Continue reading →

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Background shapes and curves

Posted on September 28, 2009 by Michael Willems

In composition, if you can spot opportunities to use shapes and curves, your portraits will benefit. S-curves in particular are pleasing, like the gentle curve of the background beach coastline here on Toronto Island during the model shoot a week … Continue reading →

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3D

Posted on September 27, 2009 by Michael Willems

How do you make an image three-dimensional, like this? This is very simple and needs only two things. Use the widest lens angle (in my case here, 16mm on a full frame camera, so that means 10mm on a crop … Continue reading →

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Street

Posted on September 27, 2009 by Michael Willems

I am always happy to see the streets of Toronto. Especially in summer (ish). When you look, you always find things to shoot. Like funny signs (notice the recurring blue?) Or like nice people. It is amazing to me that … Continue reading →

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The art of the dramatic portrait

Posted on September 26, 2009 by Michael Willems

So how did I use the softbox I showed myself holding yesterday? Or rather, what picture did I get in the end? As a reminder, I was using a Canon 1Ds MkIII with a 580 EXII flash on the camera … Continue reading →

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Shot of the day

Posted on September 25, 2009 by Michael Willems

..is me shooting my friend Dal yesterday on the Lakeshore in Port Credit: As you see I am reflecting in his glasses (with brightness enhanced to show me, not him, of course). I am using my 1Ds MkIII with a … Continue reading →

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Motion a drag?

Posted on September 25, 2009 by Michael Willems

…only if you drag the shutter. You may have heard this expression, “dragging the shutter”. What does it mean? It means taking a flash picture and then letting the shutter stay open for a while longer, so it “drags”. Why? … Continue reading →

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Ask!

Posted on September 24, 2009 by Michael Willems

I notice that a lot of my students ask questions, and every time they ask one, I think “hey – that would make a great blog post”. I then promptly forget. So here’s my request: send me an email, or … Continue reading →

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